


Triad

by AutisticWriter



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [201]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Acceptance, Coming Out, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, Kissing, Multi, One Shot, Parent-Child Relationship, Polyamory, Sister-Sister Relationship, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14045544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: In which Jenny, Buck and Sour Cream decide to tell their parents about their relationship.Inspired by this tumblr prompt: Imagine your OT3/4/5 meeting each other’s parents and trying to make them comfortable with the fact that they have more than one partner.





	Triad

“It’s been three years now, and I don’t think anyone knows we’re dating,” Jenny says, lying on a towel on the beach in her favourite bikini, trying to catch some rays before the sun gets hidden by the clouds.

“Apart from Steven,” Buck says, his hands tucked behind his head as he lies beside her, sunlight shining off of his shades. “That kid is perceptive.”

“Yeah, but Steven doesn’t count,” she says. “I mean, we haven’t actually, like, come out to anyone, have we?”

Even with his sunglasses on, she sees Buck frown. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Steven worked it out, but we’ve never actually told anyone, have we?” He turns to Sour Cream, lying on his other side. “Have we, SC?”

But Sour Cream doesn’t answer. He has his huge headphones on, music playing from his iPod. He snores softly, a yellow sunhat (his step-dad gave it to him; Jenny is so glad that Sour Cream and Yellowtail are getting on now) tilted forwards to cover his eyes.

Buck sighs. “He’s asleep.”

“Honestly,” Jenny says, chuckling.

Buck nudges Sour Cream in the ribs, but he doesn’t even flinch, let alone wake up. He goes to nudge Sour Cream again, but Jenny grins mischievously.

“Wait, I’ve got a better idea.”

And, as Buck watches on, Jenny grabs a bottle of water and tips the contents all over Sour Cream’s bare chest.

“Aah!” he shrieks, sitting bolt upright. His headphones and hat fall off, exposing wide, confused eyes. “What the hell was that?!”

“ _Now_ he’s awake,” Jenny says to Buck, and she bursts out laughing.

Sour Cream sees the empty bottle in her hand, and frowns – but he’s grinning too. And then he grabs his own bottle of water and throws a load of water over Jenny. She screams, and soon the three of them are having a water fight on the beach, throwing water and chasing each other and even pushing each other into the sea. And they all shriek and laugh and swear, and Jenny can’t remember a time they had such silly fun.

When they finally get bored of acting stupid, the three of them sit back down, wrapping their beach towels around their shoulders. They laugh and lean against each other, smiling and enjoying each other’s company. Jenny loves spending time with her boyfriends, when none of them are at work or school and they can just be together, like this.

“About what you were saying earlier, Jen?” Buck says, watching Sour Cream brush sand off of his iPod. “You’re right, aren’t you? We really haven’t come out to anyone.”

Sour Cream, having missed their earlier conversation, looks slightly puzzled. But then he nods. “You’re right, you know. We’ve never told anyone about it. I’d have thought someone would’ve worked it out, but Steven’s the only one. Do you… do you think we should tell anyone?”

“What, like my dad?” Jenny says, scoffing. “Yeah, that’d go real well.”

Seriously, though, her dad would go nuts at the thought of her dating one boy, let alone two.

“Well, maybe not your dad,” Buck says, taking her hand and giving it a sympathetic squeeze. “But maybe some of the other kids, like Sadie or your sister. Or my dad. I think he’d be cool about it.”

“I think mom and Yellowdad would be cool,” Sour Cream says. “Onion wouldn’t care. Mom’s real accepting, and I think Yellowtail will be confused, but then he’ll get it.”

Jenny looks at them both. She wants to do this, but she doesn’t want her dad to get mad. She sighs.

“Well, it’s worth a try. But we’ll tell Dad last. Deal?”

Her boyfriends smile.

“Deal,” they both say.

\---

**Buck’s Dad**

Before they get a chance to talk to Mr Dewey, they have to wait for Buck’s dad to actually have a day off. So when he finally isn’t at work, Jenny, Buck and Sour Cream take their chance.

Buck lets her and Sour Cream into his house, giving them a slightly forced smile. Jenny reaches for his hand and gives it a squeeze.

“It’ll be fine,” she whispers.

Buck smiles weakly. “I know. It’s just…” he sighs. “I dunno.”

Sour Cream squeezes his shoulder. “I get you, man. But Jenny’s right. Come on, guys, let’s do this.”

And Buck nods once, before leading Jenny and Sour Cream into the living room.

Mr Dewey is sat on the armchair, reading a newspaper. He looks up when the three teens walk into the room, hovering awkwardly in the doorway.

“Hello, son,” he says, smiling. “Ah, Jenny, Sour Cream, I haven’t seen you two for a while. How are you?”

“We’re cool,” Sour Cream mumbles, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Yeah, we’re okay, thank you,” Jenny says, smiling awkwardly.

Buck wanders over to his father, and Jenny and Sour Cream follow him. “Um, Dad… there’s something we’d like to talk to you about. Is it okay if we have a chat?”

Mr Dewey folds his newspaper, leaning forwards in his seat. Jenny takes the chance to sit on the couch, and Buck and Sour Cream follow, sitting either side of her.

“Of course,” he says. But then his smile fades. “This isn’t something bad, is it? You’re not going to ask me for permission to go on a world cruise or something? Because despite how hip I try to make myself look to appeal to the youth voters, I’m not exactly loaded.”

“No, Dad, we’re not after money,” Buck says.

Jenny pats Buck’s arm. “I think it’d be easier to just be open about this.”

Buck glances at her. Anxiety is written all over his face. But then he sighs. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Mr Dewey frowns, clearly confused. “Is something the matter?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. Look, Dad, you know Jenny and Sour Cream are my best friends?”

“Yes, you’ve been friends with them for… fourteen years, I believe,” Mr Dewey says.

“Yeah, that’s right. Except… for the last three years, we’ve been more than j-just friends. We’re dating.”

Jenny watches as Buck’s dad processes what was just said. He looks at his son and the two teens sat beside him, and his eyes widen slightly. It’d be quite funny if she wasn’t so nervous.

“What… sorry, I think I misheard you, son. Which of your friends are you dating, Sour Cream or Jenny?”

Jenny smiles for a couple of seconds, amazed by what she just heard. Mr Dewey is clearly a very liberal guy, given that he thought about his son dating another boy without as much as a blink. She just hopes he’ll accept their poly relationship as easily.

“No, Dad, that’s not what I meant,” Buck says. As he speaks, he reaches for Jenny’s hand; on her other side, Sour Cream links hands with her. “I meant I’m dating them both at the same time. All three of us are dating.”

Mr Dewey studies the three of them. “I… see. Is this normal for your young people, because I can’t ever remember meeting three people dating at once?”

Jenny suppresses a laugh.

“No, people’ve always been polyamorous,” Sour Cream says. “But it’s more… accepted these days. It’s just like two people dating and falling in love and all that, except there’s three of us.”

Mr Dewey sits there for a few seconds, clearly thinking hard. But then he smiles. “Well, that makes sense. I’m very happy for the three of you.”

Buck chuckles and Jenny hugs him. The tension has dissipated, and the three teens grin and hug each other as Buck’s dad smiles.

“Thanks, Dad,” Buck says. “This means a lot.”

Mr Dewey walks across the room and gives Buck’s shoulder a pat. “It really isn’t a problem. I’m just glad you’re happy.” He looks at Jenny and Sour Cream. “I’ve know you two a long time, and I trust you. I know you’ll be the partners my son deserves.” His eyes fill with tears and he turns his head away. “Sorry, I’m being soppy. I’m just really happy for you, Buck.”

Buck rolls his eyes, but he stands up and gives his dad a rather awkward hug. “Thanks.”

And Jenny watches them hug and Sour Cream squeezes her hand, and she’s so happy this has gone well. She just hopes their other attempts to come out will be as great as this.

\---

**Sour Cream’s Family**

Vidalia and Yellowtail are very liberal parents, happy to let their sons do whatever they want as long as they enjoy their lives. It did take Yellowtail a bit of time to learn this parenting style, but he now totally accepts his step-son’s love of music and DJ-ing. And they both accept Onion as the rather… odd young kid he is, letting him live his life. And Jenny is often a bit jealous, because she wishes her own dad was as relaxed as these two.

So it makes sense that Sour Cream is easily the least nervous about coming out to his parents. Buck has been in a much more cheerful mood ever since his dad accepted his relationship, but Jenny still feels jittery all the time; she’s just so worried that her family won’t accept her dating two guys at once.

But the mood is still much more relaxed, and she’s glad for it. When they wander into the living room at Sour Cream’s house, Jenny is positively optimistic.

“Hey, Mom, Yellowdad,” Sour Cream says. “Can we talk?”

Vidalia and Yellowtail are sat together on the couch, watching the TV and holding hands. At least until Sour Cream speaks, because his mom turns the TV off.

“Of course, dear,” Vidalia says. “What’s up?”

The only remaining seat is an armchair, and Jenny knows the three of them can’t all sit on there. So they stay on their feet, watching Sour Cream’s parents.

“Um…” Sour Cream trails off. “You know Jenny and Buck, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” Vidalia says, and she smiles at them. “Hey, you two.”

Jenny waves awkwardly. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Buck says.

“Well…” Unlike Buck, Sour Cream seems to adopt a more straightforward technique with his parents – which explains why he just takes a deep breath and babbles, “We’re dating. All three of us. We’re dating.”

Vidalia and Yellowtail exchange looks. Yellowtail leans forwards and says something to Sour Cream in the language which Jenny still doesn’t understand. She watches her boyfriend stand there for a second, before a huge smile spreads across his face and he replies in a cheerful tone.

Jenny smiles. This looks positive.

“You know, I did wonder,” Vidalia says, smiling. “You three have always been so close. It makes a lot of sense, actually.”

Yellowtail says something else and Vidalia adds, “Yeah, this is brilliant! I’m so happy for you three.”

And Sour Cream, usually such a cool guy, grins and rushes forwards to pull his parents into a joint hug.

“Thanks, guys,” he says. “I’m so happy. This is awesome!”

And as Jenny and Buck watch this scene, Buck puts his arm around Jenny’s waist. She glances at him and he smiles.

“Two down, eh?” he whispers.

But then that nervous knot appears in her stomach again as Jenny finishes Buck’s sentence in her head: _One to go._

\---

**Jenny’s Family**

Jenny can’t sleep. She hasn’t been able to sleep all night, and now it’s four am and she’s so tired and anxious as she lies in bed, wishing she could turn the light on and do something but not wanting to wake up Kiki.

Yesterday, she and her boyfriends agreed that today would be the day that they come out as a triad to Jenny’s family (Fish Stew Pizza’s kitchen sprung a leak yesterday, so the restaurant is going to be closed today, making this a perfect opportunity to talk to Dad). And so, for the last twelve hours, Jenny has been painfully nervous. Because she’s dreading having to come out to her dad.

She knows what Dad is like. He has rather… traditional views on relationships, to the point that he will grill any boyfriends brought home by his daughters (such as his reaction when he thought Kiki was dating Ronaldo). But she isn’t going to bring home just one boyfriend; she has two boyfriends. They are a triad. And Polyamory isn’t exactly a normal or well accepted type of relationship. So her dad might freak out. He might ban her from seeing Buck and Sour Cream again. He might ban her from using the car.

Coming out to her dad might ruin everything.

Of course, Buck and Sour Cream aren’t pressuring her – she wants to do this as much as they do – but she can’t get her anxiety to go away.

Jenny sighs and turns over for the millionth time, wishing she had her phone (but it’s charging in the living room). She’s so bored and nervous. This is bordering on painful.

“Jenny?”

She jumps. Rolling over again, Jenny squints to see through the darkness. A shadow shows her that Kiki has propped herself upright on her elbows, and is staring at her.

“Are you awake?” Kiki whispers.

She sighs. “Yeah, I’m awake.”

“Is something bothering you?”

Jenny hesitates. “No. I’m cool.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I’m always happy to talk.”

Her twin sister is so kind. She cares about her so much, even though Jenny is often a pretty crap sister. And even though she would normally lie and just tell Kiki to go back to sleep, Jenny doesn’t feel normal in the slightest. She’s stressed and exhausted and kind of wants to cry, so she decides to take her sister up on her offer.

“Well,” she trails off, sighing. “I guess we could talk.”

“Okay.”

To her amusement, she hears rustling and Kiki gets out of bed. She switches on the lamp at their desk, making the room glow rather than blinding her with the overhead light, and then climbs into bed beside Jenny.

“So, what’s the problem?” she whispers, concern in her tired eyes.

It’s then that Jenny realises that she can’t even talk about her problem without first coming out to Kiki. But it’s not that big a problem; she trusts her twin.

“Okay,” she says. “Well, first of all, I’m dating Sour Cream and Buck.”

Kiki stares at her and starts to giggle, clamping her hands over her mouth to muffle the noise.

“What?”

“It’s just…” Kiki manages to stop laughing. “That’s such a big thing, but you said it so casually.” She puts her arm around Jenny. “But it’s cool, sis. It’s not a problem. I can’t believe you’ve got two boyfriends.” But her smile fades. “What’ll Dad say?”

“Exactly,” Jenny says, sighing. “We’ve agreed to tell Dad – and Gunga, obviously – tomorrow, but I’m just freaking out a bit. I don’t want him to get mad.”

Kiki sighs and gives Jenny a hug. “I’m sure it’ll go okay, Jenny. I’ll be there with you, and your guys’ll be there, and we’ll all look out for you.”

Jenny smiles weakly. “Thanks.”

True to her word, Kiki is by her side when Jenny lets Sour Cream and Buck through the front door that afternoon. Her boyfriends look nervous, and give her quick hugs as they say hi to Kiki.

“It’ll be okay,” Buck says.

“Yeah, it’ll be cool,” Sour Cream says, smiling a slightly forced smile.

Jenny inhales slowly, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. “I sure hope so.”

She and Kiki walk into the living room, the guys following a few paces behind. Dad and Gunga are sat in different armchairs; the TV is on, but neither of them are paying attention, preferring to read a library book (Gunga) or do crossword puzzles in the newspaper (Dad).

“Hey, Dad, can we talk about something?” Jenny ask, hoping her voice didn’t just wobble.

Dad looks up from the newspaper, frowning. “Are you trying to get something from me?”

“No, no, I’m not after anything this time,” Jenny says, remembering how many of her conversations with her dad tend to revolve around borrowing the car or asking for extra cash. “I’d just like to have a chat.”

“Very well,” Dad says. he looks past the twins and sees Buck and Sour Cream. “And what are you two doing here? Planning on asking to take my daughter off to a deafening concert and take her out of work all day?”

To be fair, that’s what happened the last three times her boyfriends came to talk to Dad.

They both shake their heads.

“No, sir,” Buck says, and Jenny would laugh at him acting so awkward if she didn’t feel just as bad.

“Nothing like that,” Sour Cream adds, his face a disturbing shade of pink.

Gunga looks intrigued. “Well, I think you three should sit down.”

They do so, but Jenny makes sure to put some distance between her and the guys when they sit on the couch, not wanting to annoy Dad.

“So, what is all this about? I’m a busy man.”

“Don’t lie, Kofi,” Gunga says. “We all know you’re out of work for the next week until they fix the leak.”

Dad chooses not to answer. He looks at Jenny and she breaks eye contact; her dad’s stare always makes her feel like he can read her mind.

“Well, Dad, you see… um… how would you… what’d your reaction be if I was dating someone?”

Dad’s eyes widen. “What?! Who are you dating?”

“No, just hypothetically, Dad,” Kiki says, still hovering in the doorway. “If one of us had a boyfriend, what would you think?”

Dad deliberates, a confused frown on his face.

Gunga smiles. “Well I would be delighted. And I would be more than happy to meet the lucky boy.”

Dad sighs. “I don’t know. It’d be okay, I suppose, but… I just want you to be safe. I wouldn’t want either of you to get hurt from dating.”

Jenny suppresses a sigh. She knows her dad is being truthful; all of his moaning about his daughters dating is just because he cares about them.

“But…” he continues. “I suppose, in time, I would come to accept your boyfriend. As long as he was a nice guy.”

“That’s good,” Jenny says, deciding to take her chance. “Because I’m in a relationship right now.”

“Really?” Gunga says. “So, when can I meet him?”

“What!?” Dad cries, looking a bit faint. “You’re dating someone? Who is it?” He looks at Sour Cream and Buck, obviously remembering that they’re still in the room. “Is it one of these two? Which one of you is dating my daughter?”

Jenny laughs awkwardly. “That’s the thing, Dad. ‘Cause I’m actually dating both of them.”

“Both… both of them?” Dad says, stammering over his words. “You have two boyfriends?!”

She nods. “Um… yeah… I hope that’s okay.”

Dad looks vacant, as though overwhelmed by this revelation.

But Gunga smiles and says, “Well, there is nothing wrong with a good polyamorous relationship. I trust you two will treat my granddaughter well. After all, you’ve proven yourself to be excellent friends through all these years. Right, Kofi?”

Dad shakes his head slightly, and clears his throat. “Yes… well… this wasn’t quite what I was expecting. To be honest, I’m confused. But I’m glad it’s you two. I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve always been great friends of Jenny’s. I… I suppose you can carry on dating.”

Jenny grins, and the tight knot in her gut unravels. She finally breathes properly and gets up to give her dad a hug.

“Thank you so much, Daddy,” she whispers as she hugs him. “This means so much to me.”

Dad pats her on the back. “To be honest, I’m just glad you’re happy. After all, a happy daughter makes a productive pizza delivery girl.”

Jenny laughs. “Oh, Dad, is your mind ever off pizza?”

But she grins, so happy. She’s just so relieved that this is all over. Her dad accepts her poly relationship, and she doesn’t need to be anxious anymore. Everything is great.

\---

It’s three weeks since Jenny told her dad about her relationship with Buck and Sour Cream. And, just like the day they came up with their coming out idea, the three of them are on the beach.

Now they are out to their parents, they’re much more comfortable acting as a triad in public, with PDAs and all of that (but not when they’re near Fish Stew Pizza, because Dad freaks out when he sees Jenny and her boyfriends acting too clingy). So more and more people assume that they are dating, and now pretty much the whole town knows about their relationship.

And Jenny loves it. They can be themselves, a happy, loving triad who care about each other more than anything. Life is perfect now, and not even the weird gem thing the Crystal Gems are chasing across the beach towards them can change that. Although they better get out of the way quickly.

They relocate to the boardwalk and watch the Gems attack this weird monster with loads of tentacles as they lean against the railings, and Sour Cream has his arm around her and Buck leans against her and they’re so close and happy. Yeah, she loves it like this. And she hopes things ever change.


End file.
